The 2006

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

was played on January 2, 2006, as part of the

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...

. This 72nd edition of the Sugar Bowl featured the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

, champions of the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

, and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

Champion

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. West Virginia's upset victory bolstered the Big East's profile in the wake of losing three members to the ACC, and likely preserved the conference's automatic inclusion in the BCS. The game was played in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, as its traditional site, the

Louisiana Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

, was unfit for use in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. The freshmen-led West Virginia team stunned Georgia—playing in what amounted to a home game in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

—by opening a 21–0 lead by the end of the first quarter. While West Virginia pushed the lead to 28–0 a minute into the second quarter, Georgia rallied to close the gap to 31–21 at halftime, behind quarterback D.J. Shockley. The 52 first-half points were a record for a single half in a BCS game. In the third quarter, Georgia cut the lead to 31–28 following a 68-yard scoring drive. Freshman quarterback Pat White led West Virginia on a 9-play, 95-yard drive to extend its lead to 38–28 with 8:32 remaining in the game. Georgia responded with a 90-yard drive of its own to cut the lead to 38–35 with 5:13 left. With 1:26 remaining in the game and facing a 4th-and-6 near midfield, West Virginia's Phil Brady ran for 10 yards on a fake punt to seal the win. West Virginia's freshman running back

Steve Slaton Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning unanimous All-American ...

was named the game's MVP, having rushed for a Sugar Bowl-record 204 yards and 3 touchdowns, including two separate scores of 52-yards each. Fellow freshman

Darius Reynaud Darius Reynaud (born December 29, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and was ...

, a wide receiver, scored the Mountaineers' other two touchdowns.

Aftermath

West Virginia capped off an 11–1 season ranked #5 in the nation, while Georgia fell to 10–3. The win was the first of four bowl victories for West Virginia QB Pat White.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ranked the 2006 Sugar Bowl #6 on its list of the best major bowl games of the BCS era. This was the last Sugar Bowl to host the SEC champion until the 2014 season when

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

played in the national semifinal game. The SEC champion would play in the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four des ...

each of the eight years following the 2006 game.

References

External links

{{College bowl games on ABC 2005–06 NCAA football bowl games, Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl Georgia Bulldogs football bowl games West Virginia Mountaineers football bowl games

January 2006 sports events in the United States 2006 in Atlanta American football competitions in Georgia (U.S. state)